You Are Not the Only One
by ChrisMA222
Summary: After basically giving Nagisa away to Shizuma, Tamao is starting to feel alone, no one to love after losing Nagisa. She feels like she is the only one to go through such sadness, but little does she know that Yaya of St. Spica, is also going through a similar experience, losing Hikari to Amane, the prince of Astraea Hill. Will Tamao and Yaya collide and realize they're not alone?
1. Tamao's Prologue

Author Note: I do not own anything related to Strawberry Panic! All © goes to their respective owners!

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**Chapter #1 - Tamao's Prologue**

In the quiet halls of St. Miator, not one sound echoes, the sign of emptiness. This is what Tamao is experiencing in her dorm room, and in her heart. For a long time, she has wanted to have Nagisa to be hers, but now that special girl is no longer hers to have. Even though her and Nagisa are friends still, she can't help but feel lost in her heart. The thought of her letting go made her go back to the night when Shizuma, the silver-haired star of Astraea Hill, expressed her love to Nagisa in front of the many students of the Strawberry Dorms during the last day of the Étoile Competition. Then Tamao, letting go of Nagisa to let her be happy, pushes her toward her love Shizuma. As Nagisa and Shizuma left in the night, Tamao looked down and started to cry, but no one else noticed as they were standing in awe of what has transpired in front of them. After remembering that night once again, Tamao shed a single tear like the other times she has when remembering that. She was sitting on her bed, just sitting motionless while looking down and saying to herself,

"Am I truly alone? Alone in the heartbreak of love?"

After saying this, she looks outside to see a rain storm approaching. She remembers that a lot of the students, including Nagisa, were enjoying the beautiful summer weather outside. Tamao also remembers that Nagisa is with Shizuma, probably walking and enjoying each other's company, not caring about what the others think of them being together. In fact, many of the other girls think that Shizuma and Nagisa are a very cute, loving couple that is perfect for each other. As the rain started to fall, the commotion grew louder as the girls that were outside started to flood back into the dormitory building of St. Miator. Tamao then turns on the light in her and Nagisa's room, not wanting Nagisa to know that Tamao was crying and being alone in the dark room. She wiped away the dried up streaks of tears and also straightened her uniform.

She thinks to herself in her mind saying, '_I can't let Nagisa know that I was thinking to myself...she can't see me in pain._'

Just after saying this, she hears Nagisa outside the door speaking and laughing with Shizuma, talking about what they did outside before it started to rain. Tamao then quickly stood up, hearing the lovebirds saying their goodbyes to one another. After the exchange, Nagisa enters the room, seeing Tamao standing up by their beds.

Nagisa asks Tamao a question saying,

"Tamao-chan, why were you inside while the weather was lovely earlier?"

After hearing the question Nagisa just asked, Tamao suddenly looked surprised, thinking to herself that Nagisa was actually concerned about her. She thought Nagisa wouldn't really notice, especially being with Shizuma.

Thinking about what to say, Tamao quickly replied saying,

"Oh, I didn't feel quite well enough to go outside. Maybe it was the cold tea I drank earlier...haha."

Nagisa then had a disappointed look on her face, looking down at the floor for a second and then replied back saying,

"I see Tamao-chan, well then I hope you feel better soon!"

She then smiled and giggled, trying to show that she is still in her usual nice and bubbly mood. Tamao then gives a slight smile, remembering again that Nagisa is still her friend and she can be happy knowing that. After smiling back, Tamao then asks Nagisa a question saying,

"So, what did you do outside Nagisa-chan?"

"Oh, I first admired the scenic view of the small garden at the door entrance, how it shows that summer is finally here and our short week break will be beginning. After this, I saw Shizuma-sama standing under a tree, looking back at me. Her and I met up and then walked the trails of Astraea Hill, taking in the gorgeous warm air. And then..then.."

Nagisa then starts to blush a bright strawberry red color, thinking about the moment when Shizuma grabbed her unexpectedly by the waist with her arm and pulls her closer. Nagisa remembers Shizuma saying into her ear, "Isn't this summer weather beautiful, Nagisa-chan? It's almost as beautiful as you, my dear."

Realizing that she dozed off, Nagisa quickly forces her mind to return to the current time, feeling sorry that she just stood there not speaking to Tamao.

"I'm terribly sorry Tamao-chan!" says Nagisa, "I should not have dozed off daydreaming like that."

Once she apologized, Nagisa bows down in front of Tamao, who promptly giggled saying,

"It is okay Nagisa-chan, you were actually being quite cute daydreaming like that!"

Even though saying the kind words to Nagisa, Tamao was thinking about how she was jealous, then back to being sad and down always wanted to be close to Nagisa like Shizuma was, holding her and saying the nicest things to her. After giggling as well, Nagisa then replies saying,

"Oh okay Tamao-chan, but I still feel bad for not saying anything for a bit. I was looking like a strawberry huh?"

Her and Tamao then laughed together, but not too loud because of all the St. Miator students in the hall still walking around and coming in from outside.

"Yes Nagisa-chan, like a sweet red strawberry!" replies Tamao.

Nagisa then looks at the clock on the wall across their room and realizes that it is almost time for dinner. She then asks Tamao,

"It is almost time for dinner Tamao-chan, would you like to join Shizuma and I? Or are you not feeling well yet?"

Tamao then replies back saying, "Oh..I think I should relax here for a bit in here, as you are right. I do not feel well enough yet, so you go and enjoy dinner with Shizuma-sama."

Just then, a knock was heard on their room door. Nagisa turns around and opens the door, seeing Shizuma standing there.

"Nagisa-chan, are you ready to go and enjoy our dinner together?" asks Shizuma.

Nagisa nods, then turns to Tamao saying, "Tamao-chan, I really hope you feel better very soon! Let me know if I can help in anyway!"

Nagisa then smiles and turns to Shizuma, letting her know that she is ready to go. Shizuma then gently grabs Nagisa's hand and off they went to dinner. After hearing the door clicking shut, Tamao keeps repeating over and over the words that Nagisa said in her head.

'_Let me know if I can help in anyway!_'

Hearing this one sentence over and over made Tamao more sad, for she knew that there really could only be one or two ways of helping here, and one of the ways is now pretty much completely gone. She couldn't do anything to bring that way back, it would be selfish of her to do that to her dear friend Nagisa-chan, who loves Shizuma dearly and carringly. She knew that the big way to fill the one empty spot in her heart, was love.

Tamao felt like she was the only one to go through a situation like this, but is she really the only one?

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Author Note: Thank you very much for reading Chapter 1 of my first fan fiction! Leave any review/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	2. Yaya's Prologue

**Chapter #2 - Yaya's Prologue**

In the area outside of the main building of St. Spica, many girls of the institute were outside, enjoying the wonderful summer weather that has been blessed to the students of Astraea Hill. Birds singing in the gentle breeze of summer and over the commotion of the students outside. One of those girls was Yaya-chan, who was sitting under a tree, away from the many girls in the open area in front of St. Spica. Yaya was wanting to be outside for Hikari's sake, since she asked her to come and enjoy the wonderful, new summer weather. Even though Hikari asked personally, she has been with the beautiful prince Amane, who has taken Hikari as her angel and love.

Yaya can see the couple being surrounded by a big group of St. Spica admirers, who were wanting to speak to the loving couple. Amane and Hikari chatted with many of the students, answering questions and having fun interacting. After the Étoie events, Hikari and Amane have been admired together by many of the girls that were not just from St. Spica, but also from St. Miator and St. Lulium. Since becoming the new Étoile winners, both Amane and Hikari have been getting much attention from the three schools students.

With Hikari gone a lot, Yaya has had much time thinking about what has happened before. She has also been slipping more and more into realizing that she lost Hikari, the one she loved so dearly as a friend, but also more than that. After pretty much confessing her love to Hikari and still not being together with her, Yaya really has slipped into deep thought of sadness and loneliness. She remembers the times of teasing Hikari and making subtle moves on her, how she really wanted to show Hikari she wants to be closer with her. She knew that Amane has taken Hikari has hers and she wouldn't accept it, but she had to for Hikari's sake. Yaya did, not wanting to lose Hikari as a close friend at all, so she has been supporting her friends love of the prince Amane.

Looking away from watching Amane and Hikari, Yaya looks around the rest of the groups of girls around her. She then spots a very familiar pair of St. Miator uniforms, walking on a path not too far from view. It was none other than Shizuma and Nagisa, walking hand in hand on the path in a small patch of trees nearby. Yaya sighs and says to herself,

"How cute seeing Nagisa and Shizuma walking together..Nagisa-chan is really lucky.."

Yaya then looks towards Hikari walking with Amane, which looks like they're walking towards the St. Spica building. Yaya then realizes all of the students from the three schools walking back to their respective dorm buildings. She looks up to see rain clouds forming, indicating that it is about to rain. Yaya then stands up and begins to walk back to St. Spica, with her hands holding each other tightly like Amane and Hikari. After walking inside the building, Yaya sighs as she tries to walk through the groups of girls gathered around, trying to get to their rooms.

After managing to get through most of the crowd, Yaya then walks down the hallway to her and Hikari's dorm room. As she turns around a corner, she sees Amane and Hikari speaking to each other by their room door. Yaya tries to stay out of sight, not wanting to bother two and listens to what they were saying.

"Hikari-chan, even though we didn't really have time to ourselves to talk to each other, I was glad that you were at least by my side." says Amane as she smiles towards Hikari. "No matter what, I will always be happy when you are around, my angel."

Hikari then blushes as red a strawberry and replies back saying, "O-oh, thank you Amane-sama, I feel the same and more being with you as well."

As Yaya heard this, she looked down to her hands, still gripping each other and then sighs quietly. She then peeks around the corner and see Hikari and Amane hugging tightly. After the long hug, Amane looked down to the bright blue eyes of the angel she loves and lightly kisses her on the forehead. Yaya's eyes widen at what she saw, and she felt like jumping out and interrupting the special moment. She didn't because Hikari was blushing the brightest color of red, like an apple, cherry, and strawberry combined. Yaya did not want to ruin that moment for Hikari, for she realized that Hikari was very happy in this moment. As Amane and Hikari said their goodbye's, Yaya took a deep breath and walked around the corner towards their room door. Hikari almost bumped her head against the room door, still blushing from Amane kissing her on her forehead.

Yaya then surprises Hikari by saying out of the blue,

"Well well well, something must've happened with the lovely prince I take it?"

Hikari then suddenly replies back saying,

"Um well..uh..maybe, maybe not Yaya-chan!"

"Then why are you blushing so much Hikari-chan, huh?" asks Yaya teasingly.

"Ah..be quiet Yaya-chan, I will tell you later okay?" Hikari replies in a whispering tone.

After the conversation, Hikari and Yaya entered their dorm room and sat on their beds. Hikari then asks Yaya,

"Oh Yaya-chan, why didn't I see you outside earlier? You could have come and say hello to Amane-sama and I."

"I didn't want to bother the very popular and cute Étoile couple talking to our fellow classmates." says Yaya, while winking towards Hikari, which blushes and says,

"Oh, okay Yaya-chan."

A moment of silence passes by and Hikari suddenly bursts out saying,

"I almost forgot! I need to meet with Amane-sama for supper right now! I'm sorry Yaya-chan, but I hope to see you at dinner in a little bit!"

With that said, Hikari runs out of the room, not waiting for Yaya's reply. Yaya then says to herself,

"I won't be able to, I do not feel all too well like I usually am.."

Yaya falls back on her bed, breathing out a very deep sigh as she remembers seeing Shizuma and Nagisa walking together earlier. How they looked so close together, not having a care in the world, but only for themselves being together. Yaya sighs once again and says out loud to herself,

"You are really lucky, Nagisa-chan.."

Saying this made her question if she is the only one to go through this one, sad predicament. Suddenly, she remembers a certain blue-haired girl from St. Miator pushing her love towards the silver-haired star also of Astraea Hill. How that girl let go of who she loved, just like that..like Yaya.

Is Yaya-chan really the only one to go through this kind of heartbreak?

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Thank you for reading Chapter 2 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction story! Leave any review/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	3. The Realizations

Quick Note: This chapter is very short because it became a filler that flows into Chapter 4. Hope you still enjoy!

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**Chapter #3 - The Realizations**

There was a lot of commotion at the two dinners of St. Miator and St. Spica. Students were mostly talking about how they have a short summer break that will begin tomorrow. At St. Miator, Nagisa was thinking of all the opportunities she can be with Shizuma. How they can really be close more often. Nagisa was asked by Chiyo-chan, the small, raven haired, cute friend of Nagisa, to come by the library sometime to chat but also to relax and read. Chiyo let Nagisa know that she could bring Shizuma too, which made Nagisa delighted to hear. She was blessed to have a place to relax, but also to be mostly alone with Shizuma. This also made her remember Tamao, who was not at dinner.

"How will she spend the short summer break?" said Nagisa. "I should ask her and see if she wants to read with me at the library sometime!"

After saying this to herself, she then continued to enjoy the dinner with Shizuma and talked about what they would do over the break. Shizuma was quite pleased to hear that Nagisa wanted to spend a lot of time with her. During the same dinner at the St. Spica tables, Hikari was having her meal with Amane. Like earlier in the day, the couple was receiving a lot of attention from the girls of the school. Amane and Hikari were none the less happy, because they were with each other, but also because they were still receiving compliments on how they are such a cute couple. During this time, Hikari remembered Yaya and wondered how she was doing now. She wanted to tell Yaya about the short summer break and see if the news would cheer her up.

As both Nagisa and Hikari are thinking about how to cheer up their friends, Tamao and Yaya were laying in their beds, still thinking about how they have become lonely from losing their love. They believe they are the only ones to be experiencing the loss of love and almost nothing really can really make them happy again. So they both have decided to lay in bed early and wallow in their sadness for the night.

Later on, dinner for both St. Miator and St. Spica were finishing up. Nagisa walked back to her dorm room in a quick pace because she wanted to tell Tamao about her summer break plans.

"Tamao-ch.." Nagisa says, but she noticed Tamao sleeping in her bed already. Nagisa is saddened by her friend sleeping already, for she cannot tell her about the ideas she has to help her from being sad lately. Nagisa then quietly dresses for bed and slowly lays in her own bed across the room.

"I'll tell Tamao-chan tomorrow morning." says Nagisa, before she falls asleep.

Around this time, Hikari made it to her dorm room. Before she entered, she quietly sighed to get ready to tell Yaya about the summer break, and then entered the room. She saw Yaya already sleeping in her bed, which made her think to herself saying,

"_I wonder if something is wrong with Yaya-chan?"_

Standing for a bit longer, Hikari then dressed and laid down in her bed, thinking about the short summer break, but also about Yaya and how she will ask her if anything is wrong.

Hikari is in for a big surprise tomorrow.

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Author Note: Thank you so much for reading Chapter 3 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction! Leave any review/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	4. When Broken Hearts Cross Paths

Quick Note: I have typed and edited this chapter for more than four hours because I didn't save twice, so sorry for any grammar errors! Hope you like this long chapter! =)

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**Chapter #4 - When Broken Hearts Cross Paths**

It's the beginning of a brand new day on Astraea Hill and this certain day brings the start of a short summer break the students of St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulium have been blessed with. Many of the students still have their clubs or meetings to attend to, while most others have decided to stay in Astraea Hill and enjoy the break with their fellow students from either of the three schools. At St. Miator, Nagisa is up early in the morning for not just being ready for the day, but also to ask Tamao to join her and Shizuma at the main library of the three schools. She wants Tamao to not be alone, for she has been by herself ever since Nagisa came back from the night after the final day of the Étoile Competition.

So as Tamao wakes up, she sees Nagisa already dressed up in her uniform. Surprised, Tamao asks,

"Why are you dressed up? It's only 8:00 Nagisa-chan."

"Well I have a question Tamao-chan." replies Nagisa smiling. "Would you like to join Shizuma and I at the library today?"

Tamao then replies back saying, "Oh, um are you sure Nagisa-chan? I do not want to bother your time with Shizuma."

Tamao would've been so excited if it was just her and Nagisa, but she realized once again, that Nagisa is with Shizuma, and she doesn't want to ruin her and Nagisa's friendship that is still alive and well with the two.

"You would not bother at all Tamao-chan! Plus, Shizuma-sama and I have a lot of time later on to ourselves!" Nagisa says back to Tamao.

After Nagisa said this, Tamao gave a very small smile and said back, "Alright Nagisa-chan, I will join you and Shizuma today."

Nagisa was very delighted to hear this, and so she waited for Tamao to get dressed into her uniform. Once Tamao was ready, her and Nagisa started to walk out of their room where they see Shizuma standing by the doorway, smiling.

"Are you ready to enjoy our day at the library, Nagisa-chan?" asks Shizuma, still smiling towards Nagisa. Nagisa blushes a little and replies back saying, "Yes Shizuma-sama, definitely!" She then turns around to Tamao and asks,

"Shall we all leave now?" Tamao nods slowly and so the three girls leave for the library.

While walking, Tamao is behind Nagisa and Shizuma, as they are walking hand in hand. Seeing this made Tamao keep looking down a lot, not wanting to keep looking at the couple.

"_I should just leave them to themselves when we arrive._" Tamao says in her mind. "_Nagisa-chan won't notice anyway.._"

As the girls arrive, Chiyo-chan, a first year at St. Miator and a good friend of Nagisa's and Tamao's, greets them inside the library saying,

"Welcome Nagisa-chan, Shizuma-sama, and Tamao-chan! The library is not full yet, so enjoy your quiet time here!"

Nagisa then bows in respect and thanks also saying,

"We shall! Thank you very much, Chiyo-chan!"

Nagisa, Shizuma, and Tamao all sit down at a table, but only Nagisa and Shizuma were wondering what book they would read together. After a few moments, Shizuma and Nagisa decided to look at the picture book history of Astraea Hill's schools, while Tamao didn't feel like reading.

While watching the couple looking through the book and speaking about the history of the schools after a while, Tamao again feels like she is being a bother to Shizuma and Nagisa and almost wanted to leave. Finally after a minute has passed, Tamao decided to get up and tell Nagisa and Shizuma,

"I am going to look around the library for a while, enjoy the rest of the book you two."

After saying this, Shizuma nodded and replied back saying, "Actually, Nagisa-chan and I are just about done with this book, so we will also want to '_explore_' the library more." She then winks towards Nagisa, who blushed into a bright strawberry red color, looking so innocent in front of Shizuma. As the girls parted ways, Tamao finds a dark corner and decides to sat down in it. It was even darker than most of the library, which was always dark.

While sitting down, Tamao sighs and says to herself quietly,

"I really should not have come to the library with Nagisa-chan and Shizuma-sama.."

She then rests her head on her legs, taking deep breaths and feeling lonely once again, wanting to leave.

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Meanwhile at St. Spica, Hikari was waiting for Yaya-chan to wake up. She doesn't have much time, for she has plans to be with Amane for most of the day. They will be walking around the trails of Astraea Hill, enjoying the company of their angel and prince, so Hikari really wanted to ask Yaya-chan her question before she leaves. Just then, Yaya slowly awakens from her sleep, eyes being a little red from having a few tears she shed during the night.

Yaya sits up and turns to see Hikari standing by her bed. Surprised, she then asks her,

"Why are you standing by my bedside, Hikari-chan?"

Hikari replies saying, "Well Yaya-chan, I have a question to ask you."

Still fazed from her sleep, Yaya rubs her eyes and climbs out of her bed to get dressed saying nothing, for she was still tired from yesterday and the night before. With no response, Hikari asks Yaya her question,

"Yaya-chan..is something wrong? Why have you mostly been in our room ever since the end of the Étoile Competition, besides being in classes and choir?"

Yaya looks at Hikari with a very surprising look, never expecting such a question to be asked by Hikari because she thought Hikari would not notice her being down. Yaya then quickly brushes her hair and turns around towards Hikari and replies back saying,

"I did not want to bring this up Hikari-chan..but ever since you and Amane-sama have gotten close, even before becoming Étoile, I have been jealous. I have wanted to show you that I wanted to be closer to you, teasing and hinting at you. I just can't be closer because I still care about you as my friend and I did and do not want to ruin what you have with Amane-sama. So..I have been feeling alone and aching inside. But do not worry about me, for you have Amane-sama and as a good friend, I am happy for you, Hikari-chan.."

Right after Yaya was done answering the question and confessing why she has been feeling down, she quickly leaves the room and passes by Amane, who was waiting for Hikari outside of the room.

As that transpired, Hikari thought to herself in her mind saying,

"_I thought Yaya-chan got over that before, but maybe she was faking it. I wonder now though..if she can find someone besides me now._"

Hikari then walks over to Amane by the door and hugs her, which made Amane ask her,

"Hikari-chan, is there something wrong between you and Yaya?"

"No Amane-sama, Yaya just hasn't been feeling well lately." Hikari replies, still hugging Amane.

Few moments pass by and after hugging each other a bit longer, Amane says to Hikari,

"Hopefully Yaya will feel better soon, she is a good friend to you. So anyway, shall we be off and enjoy our day together, my Hikari-chan?"

Hikari nods joyously, for she wanted to start her day with Amane on a good note and not think about what just happened with her and Yaya. The two girls then walk into the start of their day together, holding each other with hand in hand.

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Yaya kept walking and walking at a slow pace, thinking to herself that she was glad to tell Hikari what was bothering her, but also upset that she couldn't hold it in at the same time. She now wanted to find someplace to think to herself and just be alone for the rest of the day. Coincidentally, she almost walks by the main library and decides that the dark library would be a good place to be by herself.

While Yaya started walking towards the library, Tamao was still inside and ready to just be done with her day already. Tamao sighs and says to herself quietly,

"I should just leave..I want to go back to my room and just lay down for the rest of the day."

As Tamao stands up and starts to walks out of the library entrance, she suddenly walks into another girl. Both of the girls fall to the floor which created a loud thud. After Tamao fell down, she tries to get up as fast a she could to apologize to whom she ran into. She realizes that it was Yaya-chan, which made Tamao felt even more upset at herself for running into someone she hasn't seen for a decent amount of time, especially a friend of hers.

"I'm terribly sorry for running into you Yaya-chan!" Tamao says as she bows down, waiting for Yaya to get up and respond.

Once Yaya has stood up, she frantically says to Tamao,

"It's okay Tamao-chan! I should have looked where I was going, so you don't have to say sorry!"

Both girls look at each other for a bit of time, since they have not seen each other since the Étoile Competition. As both girls noticed that they were looking at each other in awkward speechlessness, Tamao breaks the silence by asking Yaya,

"Um Yaya-chan, are you sure you are not hurt at all?"

"I'm perfectly fine Tamao-chan, thank you for asking though." replies Yaya.

"Well, I still think you are. I feel like I should walk you back to your room, if you want me to that is." says Tamao politely.

"Like I said, I am fine Tamao-chan, though you can walk me back, since we can catch up on things!" replies Yaya as she smiles to Tamao.

Tamao then nods and says to Yaya. "I shall accompany you then, Yaya-chan!"

Both Yaya and Tamao are now walking to the St. Spica dorm rooms during the beautiful, summer afternoon. While walking, Tamao asks Yaya a question, saying,

"Yaya, since we have not seen each other for a while, how have you been?"

Hearing this question almost made Yaya look down towards the ground, for she didn't want to go through what she did with Hikari this morning. So she replies back to Tamao saying,

"Well, I haven't been feeling the best to be honest. Especially after the Étoile Competition, so I've just been thinking a lot lately."

Tamao then thinks to herself in her mind saying,

"_I wonder why Yaya isn't feeling well. She is usually happy and energetic, especially when she is with Hikari-chan._"

As soon as Tamao thought about that, she realizes that she too wasn't feeling well after the Étoile events since she basically gave Nagisa over the final boundary to Shizuma.

"_Is Yaya, possibly going through a similar situation like me? Am I not the only one to go through heartbreak maybe?_" Tamao ponders to herself in her mind.

"What about you Tamao-chan? How have you been feeling lately?" asks Yaya very suddenly.

Tamao looks over to Yaya and replies saying, "Oh, I am feeling okay I guess, pretty much like what you've been feeling. Thinking and just being alone really. Although, I do have another question Yaya-chan."

"Oh, what is it Tamao-chan?" replies Yaya.

"Um, how are you and Hikari doing? Like, are you still good friends like before?" asks Tamao nervously, for she didn't know if this would make the conversation more awkward than it already was.

Hearing this question being asked to her, Yaya stops walking. The expression on her face changed to a look of sadness.

"We..are good friends still. You do not have to worry Tamao-chan." replies Yaya, giving a fake smile. "That brings up a question I want to ask you Tamao-chan..how have you and Nagisa-chan been doing lately?"

After Yaya asked her question, Tamao has a similar action to what Yaya had when she asked her question about Hikari. Tamao pauses for a moment and replies saying,

"Nagisa-chan and I have been doing fine. She's been very happy with Shizuma-sama like usual, so as a good friend, I am happy for her.."

When Yaya heard Tamao's response, she remembered what happened on the final night of the Étoile Competition in the spring. Tamao-chan, pushing Nagisa towards Shizuma and letting her run with Shizuma into the night, just like that in mere seconds. After that memory passing by, Yaya quickly replies to Tamao, so she wouldn't look like she will stay silent,

"Oh that's good to hear..for Nagisa-chan.."

"Yes..it is." says Tamao with a fake, small smile.

There was a very awkward pause that was taking place, and Yaya felt the aurora of awkwardness surrounding them. So she motioned to Tamao to keep walking with her, for they are not far from St. Spica's dorm rooms. Once they reached the student dorms and after walking inside for a while, the girls arrived at Yaya's room. Yaya then turns to Tamao, bows, and says,

"Thank you very much Tamao-chan for walking me to my room. I enjoyed the company and the chance to catch up very much!"

Tamao quickly bows and replies, "I'm glad that our paths crossed each other so I could talk and walk with you to your room Yaya-chan."

Before either one of them said their goodbyes, Yaya asks Tamao a quick question saying,

"Hey Tamao-chan, I have just come up with a good idea for us. How would you like to have tea with me at the main student lounge tomorrow afternoon?"

For some reason, Tamao blushed just a tiny bit from Yaya smiling and replies saying,

"That would be lovely Yaya-chan, we can catch up on what's been going on more than we did today."

Hearing Tamao's response made Yaya smile and say back,

"Alright then, it's settled! I guess I will see you tomorrow Tamao-chan, take care!"

After Tamao was done waving goodbye to Yaya and gone from sight, Yaya quickly walks into her room. She releases a sigh of relief, feeling much better after talking to someone other than Hikari about how she has been feeling and catching up with a friend she hasn't seen for a while. Yaya did notice, however, when Tamao was blushing just for a second after she asked her to join her for tea tomorrow.

Tamao felt the same way on her walk back to her room about being able to catch up with Yaya and how she felt happy talking to Yaya on why she has been feeling lonely and thinking so much. It released a good amount of stress from her mind and that lets her feel more at ease.

Once evening began rushing to end the day, many of the students on Astraea Hill were coming back to their rooms. While the many students were returning, Tamao was organizing her and Nagisa's room before her fellow roommate returns from her day with Shizuma. A few minutes pass and as soon as Tamao was done cleaning and organizing, she hears Nagisa and Shizuma saying their goodbyes for the night outside of the room door. Moments pass by and Nagisa walks into the room and is suddenly surprised by the very organized room that was right before her eyes. The room wasn't usually dirty, but it also was not cleaned and organized this much before.

"Wow Tamao-chan, our room is so clean! Thank you very much!" Nagisa says as she bows in thankfulness towards Tamao.

"It's no problem at all, Nagisa-chan! I had a lot of time to do this while you enjoyed your time with Shizuma-sama." replies Tamao.

Hearing this made Nagisa remember not seeing Tamao at the library after she said she was going to explore it more. She does not recall seeing Tamao leave at all, being so 'occupied' with Shizuma-sama at the time. So Nagisa had to ask Tamao,

"Wait, I now noticed that you weren't at the library at all during the rest of the time me and Shizuma was there. Where did you run off to besides our room Tamao-chan?"

Tamao was then surprised to hear that Nagisa noticed that she was gone for the rest of the time while she was with Shizuma. Tamao felt, like before, that Nagisa wouldn't notice at all.

"Oh, I felt like leaving you and Shizuma-sama to yourselves privately and so I wanted to go back to our room, but I accidentally ran into Yaya-chan at the front entrance of the library. After that mishap, we walked together and talked about some things on the way to her dorm room at St. Spica." explains Tamao. "Speaking of Yaya-chan, she invited me to have tea with her at the student lounge so I am meeting with her tomorrow."

Nagisa smiles and replies back to Tamao saying,

"That is lovely Tamao-chan! I am glad you have something to do tomorrow, especially with a friend of ours! Though, you do know that you could have told me that you were leaving the library earlier. I did get a little worried, even though Shizuma and I were 'occupied' with ourselves.."

Saying this made Nagisa blush in a bright strawberry red color, warming her face up like the sun shining on a clear day.

Tamao giggled at the sight of Nagisa blushing, still thinking how cute she is when she's embarrassed.

"Well Nagisa-chan, you shouldn't worry about me when you're with Shizuma-sama at all." Tamao replies back still giggling.

"Alright Tamao-chan, but still. Anyway, I bet you and Yaya-chan will have a splendid time together, chatting and drinking some nice warm tea." Nagisa smiles as she said this. She then looks towards the clock on the wall and sees that it was starting to get late into the night. Nagisa then let's Tamao know about the time and says,

"Well, it is getting late, shall we get ready to head to bed Tamao-chan?"

Tamao nods back to Nagisa, which they then dressed up for bed, said their goodnight wishes to each other, and then laid down in their beds. After a few minutes, Nagisa was already asleep from the long day with Shizuma. Before Tamao fell asleep herself, she remembers the moment when she blushed earlier after Yaya smiled and asking her to have tea tomorrow.

"Why did I blush after Yaya-chan smiled towards me? Was it a sudden reaction or something else?" says Tamao-chan to herself quietly under her blankets.

Little does she know that Yaya at St. Spica was also questioning the same thing before she went to sleep, how she felt better talking to Tamao and how she just noticed her blushing after asking her to have tea with her.

Was it only a reaction from Tamao-chan? Or was it really something..else?

* * *

Author Note: Thank you so much for reading Chapter 4 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction! Leave any reviews/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	5. Tea with a Hint of New Feelings

**Chapter #5 - Tea with a Hint of New Feeling**

A new day begins at the Strawberry dorms of Astraea Hill and the three schools summer break is on its third day. It's another rainy day, which has disappointed many of the girls of St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulium, including Tamao and Nagisa.

"Darn, it's raining outside Nagisa-chan." says Tamao, who has already awakened earlier than Nagisa.

"Aw really? Darn, I wanted to spend the whole day outside with Shizuma-sama!" Nagisa says, laying on top of her bed disappointed. "You're really lucky that your plans for today are inside Tamao-chan."

Tamao giggles at Nagisa's tone of voice being disappointed. "Well why don't you and Shizuma-sama find something to do inside Nagisa-chan?" she asks Nagisa.

"Hmm..okay Tamao-chan, I'll see what Shizuma-sama and I can find what to do day." replies Nagisa. "I hope you and Yaya-chan will enjoy your time with tea together!"

"I bet we will Nagisa-chan, it will be nice to talk more with Yaya-chan after not seeing her for a while." says Tamao back to Nagisa.

As both Nagisa and Tamao are preparing for their day, Hikari and Yaya at St. Spica were also getting ready for their day. Yaya is taking her time helping out Hikari preparing to see Amane, for Yaya was already prepared for her day with Tamao.

"Let me brush your hair Hikari-chan, for I know your prince Amane-sama wants to see your angelic hair flowing when you see each other." Yaya says as she giggles.

Hikari get embarrassed and blushes saying back to Yaya, "Stop it Yaya-chan, you're making me blush!" Hikari then giggles too and playfully shoves Yaya.

Yaya laughs and starts to brush Hikari's hair, humming a tune from their choir class. She then asks Hikari,

"So, Amane-sama wants to show you the horse stables, even though it is raining?"

"Mmhmm, the stables are indoors so Amane-sama and I won't get wet at all." replies Hikari. "Say Yaya-chan, you are in a much better mood today. Is it because you have that tea 'date' with Tamao-chan huh?" she says in a teasing tone to get back at Yaya for teasing her earlier.

"Don't think it's more than a meetup Hikari-chan!" replies back Yaya in a rushing tone of voice. "I only invited her to have tea because we haven't spoken to each other since you and Amane-sama's Étoile selection." replies Yaya again in a more serious tone.

Hikari giggles and says back to Yaya, "Well alright, but I bet you and Tamao-chan will have a splendid time with tea this afternoon still."

Yaya nods in agreement and replies back saying, "I also think we will, thank you Hikari-chan."

After saying this, Yaya lets Hikari know that she is done with brushing her hair, "There, your hair looks wonderful Hikari-chan!"

Looking up at the wall clock, Hikari realizes that she has to leave to see Amane very soon.

"Oh my, I have to leave Yaya-chan! It's almost in the middle of the afternoon and you probably need to leave too! Thank you for brushing my hair!" says Hikari frantically as she is about to leave.

"No problem Hikari-chan, have a nice time with your lovely prince!" teasingly says Yaya.

Hikari only sticks out her tongue before she walks out and running to where she will meet Amane. Yaya follows and watches Hikari running, and then saying to herself,

"Now, off to my destination, having tea and talking with Tamao-chan!" she giggles after saying this unexpectedly. She covers her mouth with her hands and also says, "Why did I just giggle?"

Yaya shrugs her shoulders and continues walking to the student lounge.

A few minutes pass of walking through the rain to the building where the student lounge was, Yaya is about to enter the lounge room when she hears her name being called,

"Yaya-chan!" it was Tamao, who also waves towards her. Yaya smiles and waves back to Tamao.

They both meet at the entrance of the room when Yaya asks Tamao,

"How are you today Tamao-chan?"

"I'm feeling good! How about you Yaya-chan?" replies Tamao, also asking Yaya the same question.

"Wonderful, much better than what I've been feeling lately, for some reason." says Yaya cheerfully.

Yaya then politely motions Tamao to enter the lounge first and she enters following her. The student lounge is almost half full, with girls that were from all three schools. Luckily for Yaya and Tamao, it was quiet enough for them to speak to each other in a lower volume. As Tamao sits in a chair on one side of a small table, Yaya asks Tamao,

"What kind of tea would you like Tamao-chan?"

Tamao ponders for a moment on what tea she would like and replies to Yaya with her answer, "I would like a cup of green leaf tea please."

Yaya smiles and says, "Wonderful! I will be right back with our tea." She then walks to the long table that was at the side of the student lounge room, where there are many warm cups of tea being poured. Yaya then finds two cups of green leaf tea and carries them back to her and Tamao's table.

"Thank you very much Yaya-chan!" says Tamao happily.

"No problem at all Tamao-chan." Yaya replies as she sits in the chair across the table. Both Tamao and Yaya take a sip of their tea, to which Tamao sighs after the sip and says in a refreshing tone,

"Ahh, the tea is lovely!"

Yaya giggles at Tamao's cute reaction and says back,

"This reminds me of our secret tea parties that you, me, Nagisa-chan, Hikari-chan, Chiyo-chan, and Tsubomi-chan had in the early spring months."

Tamao smiles and giggles when she remembers those small meetings they had. She was happy, especially since those fun times were before the Étoile events later in the spring.

"I wish we could all do that together again very soon, but a lot has changed since then.." Tamao says in disappointment as she remembers the changes that has happened since then.

"Yeah, a lot has changed Tamao-chan." Yaya replies as she looks down to her cup of tea on the table.

Realizing that this has created some tension in the conversation, Tamao tries to change the subject quickly by asking Yaya,

"So Yaya-chan, you said earlier that you were feeling much more better than recently. Did something happen last night or yesterday?"

Yaya then thinks about how to respond back to Tamao for a moment and replies back saying,

"Oh, I think it's that I am able to talk to you again Tamao-chan and really clear my mind for a bit. Y-you have helped me a bit and I am glad."

Tamao smiles and blushes a little after hearing what Yaya said to her.

"No problem at all Yaya-chan. You know you can always speak to me with what is on your mind or if something is wrong." Tamao replies encouragingly.

Yaya is almost speechless at what she heard. She realizes that she now has someone to talk to if she is feeling down at anytime, since she hasn't talked to Hikari about things like that in a while. Since she feels like helping too, Yaya tells Tamao,

"Thank you Tamao-chan. You know you can talk to me as well anytime!" She blushes just a little, but luckily for her, Tamao doesn't notice as she smiles back in thankfulness.

Tamao starts to take a sip of her tea when she looks past the top of her cup, looking at Yaya.

'_I have not really noticed how Yaya-chan's eyes can be so pretty when they sparkle._" Tamao says to herself in her mind.

"Someone must be thirsty eh?" says Yaya in a tickling tone as she noticed Tamao taking a rather long sip of tea.

Tamao quickly puts down her cup of tea and blushes because of her looking at Yaya. Yaya laughs quietly with Tamao, who is slightly embarrassed. As the two girls are laughing, Yaya is thinking how cute Tamao's laugh is, how she has not noticed before,

"_Why haven't I noticed before how cute Tamao-chan's laugh is? Wait, why am I thinking about that?_"

Their laughter was interrupted by a flash of lightning outside the windows of the room, the rain storm was picking up. Realizing that the weather was starting to get worse, Yaya says to Tamao,

"I didn't know that the weather was going to get worse! Maybe we should head back to our dorm rooms, otherwise I will be stuck here by St. Miator."

"Yeah, I agree Yaya-chan." says Tamao. "We don't want you to get caught in the freaky storm as well before it gets even worse."

Once they agreed to start to get ready and head back to their rooms, Yaya and Tamao pick up their empty cups and walk them back over to the tea table. Yaya then grabs her umbrella that was put by the entrance of the lounge room.

"We should do this more often Tamao-chan!" says Yaya-chan as she smiles. "I had a splendid time talking with you!"

Tamao smiles back and replies saying, "I agree, and I had a wonderful time as well!" She then pauses for a moment and says to Yaya, "I meant it when I said you can talk to me at anytime, Yaya-chan.

Yaya blushes again like before and then hugs Tamao saying, "Thank you again Tamao-chan. Again, you can talk to me at anytime as well."

Tamao is surprised by the sudden hug from Yaya; she feels warm and happy, like she used to hug Nagisa. She then hugs Yaya back, still feeling warm. As both girls ended their hug, Tamao and Yaya say their goodbyes to one another and started to walk in opposite directions in the hallway. Tamao decided to look back at Yaya, at her flowing dark colored hair waving on her back. Suddenly, Yaya also looks back to see Tamao looking right at her. Both girls realizing that they were looking at each other, quickly looked ahead and slowly started to walk again. Tamao was blushing quite a lot after the exchange of looks.

"Why am I blushing this much, like a red strawberry?" Tamao says as she covers her cheeks with her hands. "Do I have this new feeling once more..?"

Across the hallway behind Tamao, Yaya was pondering the same thing in her mind.

* * *

Author Note: Thank you so much for reading Chapter 5 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction! Leave any reviews/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	6. Temptation of Confession

**Chapter #6 - Temptation**** of Confession**

"Why am I thinking so much about Yaya-chan?"

This is what Tamao-chan is saying to herself, quietly in the middle of the night. After having a splendid time with Yaya, drinking tea and talking to each other with what has happened with each other the past month or so, Tamao cannot seem to get her friend off her mind. It is like something struck her heart, a sudden realization, that she is not the only one to have gone through the pain of losing someone to another girl in any of the three schools of Astraea Hill; that significant other is Yaya. Tamao realizes that Yaya has also lost her own past love, Hikari, and that is something that is or can relate to what Tamao has gone through. Both herself and Yaya have had their hearts pierced so profoundly but yet so subtly, like a sharp pinch on the skin, but it's that pain that reached both of their hearts. There is also the realization that she thinks Yaya is a beautiful, nice, outgoing girl; someones that she can talk to about her one one specific sting in her heart. She almost feels like there could be a possibility that the sting can go away soon, finally feeling better like before. This possible feeling can also stay much more than it did with Nagisa, making it much more better for Tamao to go through. Also, little does Tamao realise the Yaya, at St. Spica, is also up at this time of night, thinking about the similar thing in her mind. The constant thought that is going through Yaya's mind is that she noticed how Tamao can be a cute girl, something that she hasn't noticed since she had Hikari in her mind. Hikari though is not in Yaya's mind in that way at all, for Tamao is slowly and possibly moving into that spot, making Yaya think even more about Tamao, someone that she, again, has not noticed before to be a possible interest..or love of hers.

'_Why have noticed this before?_' Yaya says in her mind, like when she blushed earlier at Tamao and her laugh at the student lounge. '_Do I have..feelings for Tamao-chan?_'

As Yaya is thinking this, Tamao was now thinking to herself saying,

'_When Yaya-chan said I can talk to her about anything, it made my heart light up like the sun. It's so unreal now, and I feel like my heart is starting to beat more and more to the rhythm of love again. Maybe, I have feelings for Yaya-chan. I mean, I feel like I do because I just have this strange feeling I have found someone that can fill up what has been broken down in my heart so much..into so many pieces. Maybe, Tamao can complete the broken puzzle that is my heart and keep it together for good._'

As Tamao thinks about this, she pulls her bed blankets over herself and blushes profusely.

"Maybe, I should talk to Yaya-chan about this." says Tamao quietly to herself. "I feel like I should, even though if she probably doesn't feel the same about me..but what do I have to lose? My hearts should not be kept bound to the past and it must be set free and let Tamao know..what I possibly feel like towards her."

"I wonder if Tamao-chan will understand what I feel towards her, and maybe she feels the same." says Yaya at St. Spica.

Moments pass by and the two girls soon fall asleep, with the temptation of confession on their minds, eager to be let go and explode with open feeling of happiness and wonder.

* * *

The sun is now rising above Astraea Hill in the early morning, marking the start of yet another summer day for the students of St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulium. Birds chirping, leaves on the trees rustling, and a warm breeze signals a much better day of weather than the previous day of rain and thunder. A few girls from either of the three schools are bustling in the early morning, getting ready to take advantage of the beautiful day ahead of them. Even though Tamao couldn't sleep a lot in the previous night, she wakes up. Tired and deprived of sleep, she decides to get dressed and ponders on what to do.

'_Maybe I should take a walk to feel less sleepy._' says Tamao in her mind. '_Yeah, __my mind can possibly feel better and clear up more, and think more about Yaya-chan possibly._'

She then looks over towards Nagisa's bed and sees her sleeping soundly. Nagisa had a long day yesterday with Shizuma as they decided to go to the secret garden, tending to the flowers and plants during the rainy weather.

"She is probably dreaming about Shizuma, or the sweet desserts of this school." quietly says Tamao. She remembers tending to Nagisa on the first day she came to Astraea Hill, passing out after meeting Shizuma on that fateful day. How she got word about her new roommate already in the care rooms, how she got so worried and running to Nagisa's rescue. Seeing that red haired girl laying down in rest, not knowing her roommate is right by her bedside and looking down. She remembers Nagisa's cute face when she was in one of the care rooms, how peaceful Nagisa was when she was sleeping, how that face made her fill up with joy and happiness to know that such a cute girl will be her roommate at St. Miator. Tamao doesn't smile, for she feels like holding onto memories like that of Nagisa doesn't matter anymore. After watching Nagisa sleeping soundly, Tamao gets dressed into her uniform and brushed her hair very carefully, not wanting to wake up Nagisa. She then hears Nagisa talking in her sleep saying,

"Not there Shizuma-sama..oh!.." says Nagisa in an embarrassing tone in her sleep.

Tamao blushes from hearing Nagisa say this, and now she felt like going on her walk right away, not wanting to hear Nagisa's obvious dream of Shizuma any further than what she has already heard. Tamao then quietly shuts the room door as she walks out. After walking downstairs and through the main entrance of the St. Miator dorm building, Tamao arrives outside and is greeted by the song of birds, a sound of a beautiful summer morning.

* * *

"What a beautiful morning this is!" Tamao says out loud and smiling with joy.

Two days of rain have really concealed the beauty of what a summer day can offer on Astraea Hill, and Tamao is glad to be taking a walk on such a lovely morning. She finds one of the paths that leads around the areas of the three schools and decided that this will be her path of choice.

As Tamao was walking, she continues to admire the scenery around her with the sun still rising slowly. She also looks around to see a fair amount of other girls that have woken up early this morning to enjoy the summer weather. Tamao sees many couples, a lot of girls mixed from all three schools, all looking so happy and filled with joy being with the ones they love. Tamao at first feels happy for the girls around her, having another girl they love and to be with. Then, she has a thought about Yaya, how beautiful her silky black hair and brown-gold eyes are, how kind of a friend she has been. How can she see her again? How can Tamao control herself from staring at Yaya, like she did the previous day and gaining a new profound feeling in her mind and heart.

"Do I really have feelings..Yaya-chan?" Tamao says to herself, placing a hand on her chest where her heart is. "Would she feel the same towards me?"

After asking herself this question like from the night before, Tamao continues to walk on the path she has been walking on, now leading into a small patch of trees in the middle of Astraea Hill and the three schools. While walking on this path, Tamao notices a girl in a St. Spica uniform, sitting under a tree a few yards away from the path. Tamao wonders who this girl could be, and so she takes a closer look.

Her heart skips a beat.

It was Yaya-chan that was sitting under the tree by herself, looking at the sunrise through the openings of the trees. She looked like she was dozing off to sleep, slowly blinking and breathing ever so peacefully. Tamao tries to take one more step forward to get a closer look at the sleeping St. Spica student, but she steps on a twig, making a small snapping sound. Hearing this, Yaya quickly turns her head towards the source of the sound, where she sees Tamao standing, startled.

Yaya breathes a sigh of relief and waves to Tamao-chan and saying,

"Good morning Tamao-chan! You scared me for a second!"

As Yaya was giggling, Tamao was feeling slightly embarrassed for looking at Yaya without saying anything. Tamao didn't want to wake up Yaya and making her look over at the studying eyes of herself. Overcoming the embarrassing feeling she had, Tamao waves back to Yaya saying back,

"Morning Yaya-chan. I'm terribly sorry for startling you.."

"It's alright, you do not have to say sorry!" Yaya says back, then motioning Tamao to come and sit next her under the tree. Tamao smiles and graciously complies, walking over and sitting next to Yaya.

"So you woke up early and decided to take a walk in the morning too, Tamao-chan?" Yaya asks politely.

Tamao nods her head and replies back,

"Yeah, I did not sleep that much really Yaya-chan." Tamao then asks Yaya,

"Did you not sleep a lot as well? Because it looked like you were about to sleep just a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, I was thinking about a lot of things and only got a few hours of sleep." replies Yaya, answering Tamao's question.

"If it's not rude of me to ask, what were you thinking about Yaya-chan?" Tamao asks concerningly.

As Yaya heard the question, she tries not to blush, remembering the thoughts she had in her mind about Tamao, how she thought of Tamao as a cute individual, that was getting ever so much closer inside her heart, pushing itself into it. Not wanting to say what she was really thinking about, Yaya answers Tamao saying,

"Um, just some personal thoughts Tamao-chan..haha."

Tamao then has a look of a little sadness, thinking that what she asked of Yaya was rude.

"Oh, I see. Well to tell you the truth, I was thinking about some personal thoughts as well. Very personal thoughts." Tamao says to Yaya, who was looking down towards the ground.

"Ah, I think we have a lot of personal stuff going on eh?" Yaya says, sounding a bit down. "You know from yesterday that you can talk to me about anything, right Tamao-chan? You are a good friend of mine and I want to help anytime you need it." Tamao then looks at Yaya and replies,

"Yes, I do know Yaya-chan. You're a good friend of mine as well, so you can also do the same, remember?"

Yaya nods in fullness as a reply and letting Tamao know that she remembers. Tamao then, in her mind, thinks that she will bother Yaya more, but she's not just thinking that. She feels like her heart and feelings will come out, crying for the attention of Yaya and how she want to tell her so much of what she was really thinking, how she want to confess to Yaya so eagerly. So Tamao suddenly stands up and says to Yaya,

"I think I forgot to do something back at my room, I'm sorry Yaya-chan.."

As Tamao bows down in courtesy, Yaya replies back saying,

"Don't be sorry Tamao-chan, I understand. We always have time later on to talk too.."

Tamao then smiles and waves to Yaya, who waves back in their goodbyes. The real reason why Tamao is leaving is because she couldn't handle being with Yaya and not say anything about her possible new feelings for her. She really wants to tell Yaya, but she is unsure if she would understand or better yet, feel the same way back. Her heart is going around in circles, not knowing what to say, or know how to take action. Little does Tamao know that Yaya is having similar thoughts as she is, wanting to really say what she was thinking about and what she was feeling last night, how her feelings are also pulling her to say something, anything about last night. As Tamao turns and walks down the path back to St. Miator, she feels a single tear drop coming down one of her cheeks and slowly, she wipes it off, not wanting to cry outside. She wants to go back to her room once again, lay down, and let her heart out in tears.

Yaya, who is still sitting under the tree, starts to wonder if she really should've told Tamao about what she was really thinking last night.

"Maybe..I really should tell Tamao-chan what I'm feeling towards her." Yaya says to herself. "We did say we can talk to each other about anything that's on our minds. Maybe..she feels the same back, or something similar? I have to know now, no more waiting!"

Once Yaya says this, she then remembers Hikari and how she tried to show her that she loved her very subtly and then really confessing later on. It was too late, Hikari had and still has Amane. Remembering this gave Yaya a sudden burst of energy, energy to not wait like she just said to herself. For she did not want to keep her very possible feelings to be locked up again like before, like in a cell of sadness and tears.

"I have to tell Tamao-chan what I've really been thinking and how I feel!" says Yaya out loud. As soon as she said this, Yaya leaps up on her feet and starts to run, run on the path Tamao is walking back to St. Miator.

"We can't be on the same path in our minds and not say what we are feeling!" Yaya says out loud to herself. "It's too much pain to not let out and for my significant other to possibly suffer!"

As Yaya ran for a few more moments, she sees Tamao not too far ahead of her, walking ever so slowly.

"Tamao-chan!" yells Yaya, still running.

Tamao turns around to see Yaya running in full speed towards her, getting closer and closer. Yaya then slows down and stops in front of Tamao, almost out of breath. Tamao frantically asks Yaya,

"Yaya-chan, is there something wrong?"

"Yes there is Tamao-chan!" replies Yaya breathing heavily. "The one things that is wrong is that I need to tell you what I've been really thinking about..and feeling. The one thing that should not be kept from you and my heart."

As Yaya catches her breath and feeling better after running, she continues to speak,

"What, or actually, who I have been thinking about..is you Tamao-chan. Even though it is so sudden, I have been thinking about you so much. Yesterday when we were having tea together, I noticed how beautiful, how cute you are, and how that beauty should never go unnoticed. I've really realized that what you've been through with Nagisa-chan, is so similar with me to Hikari-chan. Different, but similar! I do not know how I've not noticed this before, but I know now that I'm not the only one to be going through something like this in Astraea Hill..and plus now..I think I like you, Tamao-chan. How you've been such a good friend to me before and now, and how beautiful you are! How much pain your heart is in, like mine.."

Hearing all this made Tamao feel like she was being hit by a wave of feelings, but this wave did not hurt at all. For this wave was a constant emotional roller coaster of happiness and joyfulness. Tamao was almost speechless, for she felt like something connected, something she wanted to feel back for so long. Something that was cut into pieces before, is now starting to line up, ready to be mended and healed. Taking it all in her mind, Tamao starts to tear up even more, in happiness and joy of how Yaya feels towards her. She then replies in a teary tone saying,

"I-I..was pretty much thinking the same, but about you Yaya-chan! I was thinking about you last night, how beautiful, kind, and outgoing about what you feel in any given moment, and I was thinking about how I started to feel something towards you! I knew earlier that I should've said what I was wanting to say, how I like you and see what you thought about this outburst of my mind and soul. I did not know if you would have any similar thoughts or feeling back..but I know now. I've been wondering if the certain empty part of my heart can be filled with love and not heart break any longer!"

"I think it can be filled, like that part of my heart can be as well." replies Yaya very suddenly with a bright smile. "Our hearts..need healing, and I want you to heal mine, and me to heal yours.

Tamao smiles back and gives Yaya a loving hug, feeling so relieved and happy with what has been exchanged between her and Yaya. The warmth of the hug was leaps and bounds over what she has felt before with Nagisa, how this hug just made them connected. Yaya also hugs back Tamao and breathes a sigh of happiness, also feeling much better in the warmth of the two friends hug of relief. Both Tamao and Yaya feel their hearts beating together in rhythm after they let their thoughts and feeling pour out like the tears of joy.

This summer morning, the morning of birds chirping, and warm breezes of air, marks the start of something new for the two broken wounded hearts, beating together after the temptations of confessions have been expressed so lovingly and so dearly.

* * *

Author Note: Thank you so much for reading Chapter 6 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction! It's starting to really get interesting from here on out and the rating of this story will change before I publish Chapter 7! XD but anyway, leave any reviews/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	7. The Warmth of Two Lonely Hearts

Quick Note: I'm so sorry that some of my chapters are short for a story like this! I tried to not make it too long while I was originally writing this (this chapter is longer than the original!) and this chapter is a continuation from Chapter 6. If you have any suggestions for this chapter to make it longer, feel free to let me know!

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**Chapter #7 - The Warmth of Two Lonely Hearts**

**Continued from Chapter 6**

"I'm so sorry that I did not tell you earlier of what I was thinking about Tamao-chan." says Yaya, who is still embracing Tamao in their hug together.

The feelings that are being admitted now have put both Tamao's and Yaya's mind at ease, not holding back for any longer than two days. Any longer would have driven them down even more, unable to get a chance again.

"It's okay Yaya-chan, you do not have to say sorry." replies Tamao. "Besides, we told each other just now, did we not?"

Yaya then cutely chuckles back and says,

"Yes, we did Tamao-chan, we did say what has been on our minds."

The embrace of the two hearts made the feeling and moment so warm for both of the girls, and this hug has gone on for a few minutes. A few minutes of beating and warmth.

As both girls let go of each other from their long hug, Tamao asks Yaya another question in an unsure tone of voice,

"Yaya-chan, do you think that our feelings for each other..is too sudden? We have only seen each just a few days ago after a month or so of not seeing each other and I just..feel like you would think it is sudden. I felt like I was the only one in any of the three schools, but I have not remembered that you have gone through a similar thing with Hikari-chan, just like you said. Now, I feel like the emptiness inside of me can now be filled, having these newfound feelings..for you Yaya-chan.

Hearing this made Yaya blush, and she isn't one to blush a lot in a bright strawberry red color. She shows that she is happy, but also shocked to know someone, especially a friend she has known, has feelings for her even though it's happened so fast. Yaya now knows, along with Tamao, that she is not the only one to go through such pain and heartbreak.

"I pretty much feel the same way Tamao-chan. Being broken up the past month has felt horrible, even though I feel happy for Hikari-chan." says Yaya, almost choked up with overwhelming feelings. Feelings that are gushing out at the seems, like a waterfall that's neverending. "Now I can be happy with you."

Yaya then starts to ask Tamao an important question, that can make both their summer breaks so much brighter, even more than the flames of a fire. A fire of love and happiness.

"Tamao-chan..would you like to help fill this void in my heart, as I shall do the same for your heart?"

As Tamao heard this, she was almost completely speechless, not expecting a question like that all of a sudden. It's like her heart has stopped, like her mind in utter awe of now words to express. She then starts to smile with great joy and glow like the sun that is still rising in this beautiful morning of emotions and light.

Still smiling, Tamao nods her head and replies back to Yaya saying,

"Yes Yaya-chan! No other answer is better than that!"

After the very exuberant from Tamao, both girls hugged each other once again, feeling their happiness leap over and over unlike ever before. Even though it may seem so sudden that Yaya and Tamao are now together, they have been sad, alone, and broken for a while after losing their love to two of the most aspiring students of St. Miator and St. Spica. Literally running into each, not seeing each other since the final days of the Étoile Competition, and meeting with each other at the student lounge, they remembered that both of them have been through such similar situations of the loss of love. How much they have been hurt, how their hearts have been hurt with every beat after such events. Now they feel like they can heal, together. During the times that they weren't the only ones, Yaya and Tamao have also noticed something about each other that they never thought about before. Yaya noticing that Tamao is a cute, sweet, and innocent girl, almost like Hikari, but so different at the same time. Tamao noticing the hidden beauty of Yaya, how pretty is with her raven black hair and brown-golden eyes, how these can make her look and just never look away from Yaya. These feelings, now coming out ever so slowly, are now being embraced in their gentle hug together.

While Tamao and Yaya were still in each others embrace, both of them noticed that they haven't let their friends know of where they left off to earlier in the morning.

"Oh my, I haven't told Hikari-chan when and where I left off to this morning!" says Yaya, shocked in her realization. "I'm terribly sorry Tamao-chan, but I must hurry back to St. Spica."

"It's alright Yaya-chan, I also not told Nagisa-chan where I went off to as well." replies Tamao, not saying the reason why she didn't wake up Nagisa to let her know where she'll be. She then smiles in understanding towards Yaya.

"Okay, but I have one quick question." says Yaya. "Would you like to..come over to my dorm room tomorrow? I think it is supposed to rain again and be a little colder, so I can set up the small kotasu table I have and so we can have tea again together."

Tamao blushes just a little, already having another day to spend with Yaya. Being able to spend time with Yaya now makes Tamao smiles and feel much better about how the summer break is going to be for her. But then she asks Yaya a question back in a nervous feeling,

"Wait, what about Hikari-chan? Won't she be there since you and her share a room together?"

"Oh, Hikari-chan has more plans with her prince Amane-sama, so we will have time to ourselves for tea and ourselves." replies Yaya in a confirming, confident tone. "So do not worry about our time being interrupted, and I will see you later then, Tamao-chan!"

Yaya then turns to run, still having to tell Hikari about where she went off to this morning, and waves back to Tamao. Tamao waves back and then turns herself to walk back to St. Miator, with one hand on her chest.

* * *

After a while longer, Yaya arrives at St. Spica, tired and almost out of breath from running. Once she walks to the hallways of the dorm rooms, she arrives at her dorm room door. Before opening it, Yaya sighs deeply and enters. Hikari was waiting right by the door, having a worried look on her face.

"Yaya, where did you run off to this morning? I was really starting to worry about my best friend!" says Hikari in an upsetting tone of voice, for she really was starting to wonder if Yaya was safe at least.

"I am so sorry Hikari-chan! This is why I ran back as fast as possible to tell you." replies Yaya as she bows, showing that she truly was sorry. She didn't know that Hikari would be this worried and upset, especially when she noticed that Yaya was not in her bed.

Hikari sighs for a second and says to Yaya,

"It's okay, I was just worried since I did not see you in your bed when I woke up. Where did you go to anyway Yaya-chan?"

Yaya takes a deep breathe and replies back saying,

"Well firstly, I did not sleep well last night and decided to go on a walk to enjoy the beautiful morning. I then decided to sit under a tree by the path I was walking on, relaxing for bit and in which I almost fell asleep when I heard Tamao-chan. We then decided to sit under the tree together."

"Oh that's lovely. What did you and her do next?" asks Hikari, curious about what happened.

Yaya starts to blush a little, from all that has happened this morning with her and Tamao-chan. How embarrassing it would be for her if Hikari already found out about the two girls, how sudden all this is happening. Yaya then starts to explain what 'happens' next, but in a nervous tone,

"We..we just talked more about how we have been doing, nothing special."

"Uh huh, sure Yaya-chan." replies Hikari in a teasing voice, trying to tease Yaya more from all the times Yaya has teased her, and she noticed her blushing.

"Don't you have to be with your lovely prince now, Hikari-chan?" asks Yaya, trying to change the conversation as soon as possible. She feels like Hikari has caught her blushing in sweet memory of Tamao and her this morning.

Hikari's eyes widen, realizing that she almost forgot about meeting with Amane while she was wondering where Yaya was this morning. She then frantically replies back to Yaya saying,

"Oh no! I actually do have to meet up with Amane-sama, thank you Yaya-chan for reminding me! Even though you were teasing like always!"

Right after this, Hikari then runs out of the room, down the hall, and out of the front doors of the building. Yaya, still standing in their room, sighs in relief knowing that she has avoided the conversation on what she really did with Tamao this morning. How her and Tamao have agreed..to heal each other's hearts together.

'_I have to tell Hikari-chan some time though._' thinks Yaya to herself.

She knows that she can't keep it all a secret, for Hikari would find out sooner or later and be disappointed that her friend hasn't told her about this special bond and relationship. Though she doesn't want to tell Hikari yet because Yaya feels like Hikari would also think it is so sudden, like what Tamao thought to herself before Yaya telling her it is not.

Yaya yawns for a bit, for she is still tired from getting such a small amount of sleep from last night, how she was thinking so much about Tamao, how she thought Tamao was so beautiful. Lighting her heart up like a bright light in the night sky, that's what Yaya felt whenever she thinks about Tamao. Yaya then falls on her bed, just wanting to relax in her happiness from what has happened on the fateful morning.

"I feel..much better than what I have been feeling the past month or so. So much better.." Yaya says as she dozes off to sleep, smiling in comfort.

* * *

Tamao arrives at the door of her room, hoping that Nagisa is either still sleeping since she likes to sleep in, or she is possibly off with Shizuma like usual. Tamao takes a deep breath and enters the room. Nagisa is nowhere to be found, not in the room at all. Tamao takes another deep breath, being relieved that Nagisa is somewhere else, for she really wants to tell her about Yaya and her at a later time like Yaya wants to with Hikari. She then sees a little piece of paper laying on one of the desks at the end of her and Nagisa's room. The paper says,

'Tamao-chan, I noticed that you were not in your bed this morning when I woke up. So I am assuming you had something to do, or you went out to enjoy this lovely summer weather we have been granted to take advantage of! So I wanted to let you know that I am off to meet with Shizuma-sama at the secret garden and take care of the plants and flowers again. I guess I will see you later then Tamao-chan! Sincerely, Nagisa-chan."

Tamao sighs after reading the letter, glad to know that she doesn't have to explain herself to Nagisa about what she did with Yaya. How her heart was beating so much in happiness and joy, that she barely could contain it. She decides to lay in her bed, thinking all about Yaya and what has happened this morning, still feeling warm from not just the warm weather, but the loving embrace her and Yaya had together. While remembering all that has happened, Tamao slowly falls asleep, restless still from the previous night.

"I..am so happy. Yaya-chan..thank you.."

Then for most of the day, Yaya and Tamao sleep in not just happiness, but relief of how they have let their feelings out and what they been going through, how that previous pain can go away, and how their hearts are now slowly going to heal. Yaya and Tamao sleep for most of the day, with their hearts warm, but slowly not alone..now together.

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Author Note: Thank you so much for reading Chapter 7 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction! Leave any reviews/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	8. Affections Abound

****Warning**** If you do not like original characters from the show being out of character, I'm sorry. I'm trying to have Yaya 'changed' after losing Hikari. So please understand if Yaya is too different than from the show..

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**Chapter #8 - Affections Abound**

The sound of rain in the morning at Astraea Hill marks another summer day of cold, cloudy weather. Many of the girls are disappointed that it's raining again because they won't be able to spend a nice day with their friends, or mostly with their loving partner. Though there are the couples that can have a quiet, loving time in the main library, known as the place for 'special, private' moments for the girls in the Strawberry Dorms. Today, Nagisa and Shizuma have taken refuge in the library during the grueling weather of today. Nagisa has some quite interesting memories with her and this library, like during her first week at St. Miator. Nagisa was walking around the paths of the schools when she came upon the library. She then decided to see what it was like, but being so surprised by all the little 'meetings' the other students had together with the secret moments, she stumbles upon Shizuma in the library as well. The memory of her almost being under Shizuma's spell completely makes her blush in utter shock, but not now. Her and Shizuma are now together as a couple and are now one of the numbers of pairs in the library, reading or spend the 'quiet' time with their beloved other. Even though Nagisa is with Shizuma, she can't help but feel a little worried about Tamao. For she found Tamao sleeping in her bed for most of the previous day, so she wasn't able to ask her where she went off to in the morning. Though, the two friends talk in the morning.

"I wanted to have Tamao-chan come with Shizuma-sama and I to the library again and see if she can feel better about being not alone." thinks Nagisa to herself with a concerned look. "But she said she wanted to relax in our room again..I hope she is okay."

Shizuma notices the concerned look and gets very close to Nagisa's face asking,

"Why are you looking so down, my dear Nagisa-chan?"

Nagisa is startled by Shizuma being so close all of a sudden and lets out a small cute shriek saying,

"Ah Shizuma-sama! Uh..I am not down at all, just concerned that Tamao-chan is wanting to be alone again."

Shizuma smiles a little and puts her arms around Nagisa replying,

"You are a good friend to Tamao-chan and I'm sure she is happy that you care about her, like she does to you."

Surprised to hear Shizuma say such caring words, Nagisa smiles and says back to her,

"Thank you Shizuma-sama, this is one of the reasons why I love you!"

Shizuma smiles more to hear Nagisa say the three special words. She then hugs Nagisa a little tighter, letting her know she was pleased to hear those words.

"I love you as well Nagisa-chan. Again, I am sure Tamao-chan will be fine, maybe she will find something to do today." says Shizuma, who was actually right about Tamao having plans. "Now, my dear Nagisa-chan, look into my eyes and let me see your cute loving face. Let us 'study' more together."

Nagisa responds by looking up to Shizuma and then, she is caught into her eyes, barely able to move like the first time they met.

"Study? Shizuma..oh!.." says Nagisa as she is kissed by Shizuma, who holds onto Nagisa tightly.

During this loving time, Hikari and Amane were both walking under an umbrella together in the rain, on their way to the auditorium stage of the three schools. They wanted to find a place that was not in use by the other girls so they can have peace together, but also to recollect the memory of Hikari accidentally singing out loud during a choir event for Amane and the other girls that were on their way to a competition for St. Spica. How Hikari looked at Amane looking back and suddenly making herself sing for the prince. As they were walking, Hikari was thinking about Yaya and how she has Tamao coming over to their room and having tea together once again and how it was only friends having each other over only, but she had the question of it was only 'friends' being together or more.

Amane noticed how Hikari was in deep thought, being mostly quiet during their walk. So she asks her a question saying,

"Hikari-chan, is something troubling you?"

"Oh uh no Amane-sama, just thinking about how Yaya's day is going to go with Tamao-chan." replies Hikari. "I felt like she was hiding something, but I don't want to ask about something I do not know about.

Amane then is surprised by her angel's concern over her friend, how she cares about what is going on with her.

"My dear Hikari-chan, I bet Yaya will tell you sooner or later about what is going on." says Amane unexpectedly as she wraps her arm around Hikari. "She is a good friend to you, so I know she will tell you about almost anything. I know that she is a good friend to you, for she has supported you and I being together. I have much respect for that, but anyway, do not worry my dear, beautiful angel."

Hikari is so surprised by what Amane has just said that she looks up to her prince, who was smiling in understanding. Hikari then smiles back and says back to Amane,

"Amane-sama, thank you for those encouraging words. I feel much better now and I am so grateful."

Hikari then looks down towards the ground and says,

"I love you, Amane-sama."

Amane looks down at Hikari, to the blonde angel that she has in her arm and says back,

"I love you too, my dear Hikari-chan."

She then lightly kisses Hikari's forehead in a loving touch, under the umbrella of rain.

* * *

As Hikari and Amane were walking to the school's auditorium and during Shizuma and Nagisa's 'study' session of kissing was being taken, Tamao was on her way to the dorm rooms of St. Spica, going to see Yaya and have tea with the kotatsu table to stay warm, indicating that Shizuma was right about her prediction with Tamao having plans. On the way to Yaya's room, Tamao was thinking to herself, many thoughts running through her mind about her and Yaya.

'_I am so glad Yaya has invited me to her room to have tea. To have something to do already with her is such a blessing and a gift for me. I won't have to be alone in my room and be cold in my own thoughts. I can't wait until I see Yaya!_'

A few more minutes pass and Tamao arrives at Yaya's room door, a little nervous still. Before she knocks on the door, Tamao takes a little deep breath to relax more. She also straightens her yellow summer skirt she has on, along with her plain white shirt and red ribbon on her hair. After straightening everything up, she knocks on the door gently, so the noise wouldn't be too loud in the hall. A few minutes pass by and yaya answers the door, smiling in a summer outfit like Tamao's. Yaya was wearing a long white skirt, that matched her blue short-sleeved shirt, which also matched the white bow tie on her hair.

"Welcome Tamao-chan!" says Yaya in a very happy tone of voice. "I hope you didn't get cold in the rain and wind with that cute outfit you have on."

"Oh, I didn't because I had an umbrella luckily." replies Tamao. "Your outfit is cute as well Yaya-chan!" Tamao was still blushing from Yayas compliment, on her outfit.

Yaya smiles at Tamao when she returned a nice compliment on her outfit and says back,

"So, shall we have out tea together Tamao-chan?"

Yaya then leads Tamao into her room, where there is a small kotatsu table in the middle of the room by the usual two windows at the end of the room. Tamao looks around at how clean Yaya's room is, organized with what seems to be like more room.

"Your room looks lovely Yaya-chan! Not even messy compared to my room with Nagisa-chan." says Tamao in a surprised voice.

Yaya looks and smiles again at Tamao, who has a look of delight on her face.

"That is very kind of you to say Tamao-chan, thank you very much!" replies Yaya while she sits down on one side of the kotatsu table. "Please, sit down Tamao-chan, as I have made green leaf tea for you like before at the student lounge."

Tamao smiles again and sits down on the opposite side of the table. She then says to Yaya,

"It is very nice of you to make the tea for us Yaya-chan. By the way, my legs feel much warmer under the kotatsu." Tamao giggles as she takes a sip of tea from her cup.

Yaya also giggles and replies back saying,

"Same with mine Tamao-chan. I'm glad I am able to use this table after a long time of having it, especially with you." Yaya blushes after saying this, looking over towards Tamao, who was also blushing.

"Yeah! Tea and spending time with you is always enjoyable." says Tamao, who is still quite flattered with what Yaya has said. "So, were you able to sleep at all yesterday Yaya-chan?"

Yaya nods back and says, "Very much, and I was able to because I felt much better for some reason." Yaya then winks towards Tamao, hinting that the reason was because of having their moment of becoming closer, to fill the voids in their hearts. Both girls can now slowly feel something that they can express with each other, for each other in a loving way.

Tamao blushes just a little again after Yaya winked towards her and replies saying,

"That's good! I also slept very well for probably the same reason as you Yaya-chan."

Both girls smile and laugh a little, remembering that very recent, but special memory of yesterday. While they were laughing, Yaya taps one of Tamao's feet with her own playfully. Tamao becomes quite surprised, not expecting that from Yaya at all. She then blushed but smiles and also playfully taps her feet against Yaya's. The two girls look to each other with the look of wanting a fun challenge. All of a sudden, Tamao and Yaya are having a foot war under the kotatsu, laughing and enjoying the fun. Both girls were having as much as the times when they had Nagisa and Hikari to tease with, but now with each other. During this fun, Yaya's feet unexpectedly taps Tamao's upper thigh on one of her legs. Tamao, in a split second, lets out a little embarrassed sounding shriek while almost falling over across the table. Since the Kotatsu was small, Tamao's upper body was now almost at the other end of the table, where Yaya was sitting.

"Tamao-chan! Are you..you.." says Yaya slowly. She doesn't finish her message because as she looks down, Tamao was staring back up at her. Both blue and golden-brown eyes meet, staring into each other as they just couldn't look away, like it was a force that they couldn't break in between them.

'_I've never noticed how blue and pretty Tamao's eyes are._' thinks Yaya to herself. '_They are like an endless ocean of beautiful blue stars._'

Yaya also looks down to Tamao's lips and ponders in her head,

'_Her whole face looks so innocent..and her lips. They look so soft.._'

Tamao in her mind was thinking about Yaya while she stares back in awe. '_Why have I not noticed how Yaya looks so beautiful up close?..She already looks so beautiful, but up close.._'

For a few seconds, Tamao and Yaya cannot take their eyes off of each other, for they have never been so close together before. Then out of the blue, Yaya asks Tamao,

"Have you..ever had your first kiss yet, Tamao-chan?"

Tamao blushes in a very bright strawberry red color, realizing that she has never had her first kiss taken yet.

"N-no, I haven't.." replies Tamao. "Have you, Yaya-chan?"

Yaya remembers herself kissing Hikari before when she still loved her. That was when she tried to truly show her that she loved her so much before. Of course, Hikari was already in love and with Amane at the time and this led to Yaya feeling very sad, until she met Tamao just a few days before, which has led her to be with Tamao now. After remembering this, Yaya nods back to Tamao and says to her,

"Yes I have..but now, it does not matter as I have you, Tamao-chan."

Yaya then closes her eyes and moves her head closer to Tamao's, ready to kiss her. Tamao feels her heart racing, beat after beat. She can't help but feel like her heart is about to jump out, when she then closes her eyes as well.

All of a sudden, Yaya's and Tamao's lips connect passionately together. Fireworks were going off in Tamao's mind like on the night of a new year, exhilarating and spontaneous.

'_This feels..so wonderful._' Tamao says in her mind. '_Yaya's lips are so warm and soft.._'

Both her and Yaya's lips slowly lose connection with one another. The two girls take a very deep breath, for their kiss was a little long in time, like they lost track of the time and just didn't want to the moment to end. Yaya then looks at Tamao, who is still leaning across the kotatsu, blushing very brightly like a perfectly ripe strawberry in the summer. Yaya then tries to ask Tamao a question saying,

"Tamao-chan, did y-" but she was cut off by Tamao kissing her, wanting more of her warm, soft lips.

Yaya's eyes widen, not expecting such a kiss back from Tamao. Yaya's heart started to race like Tamao's, feeling so warm and fulfilling with their kisses. She then slowly starts to close her eyes and continues to kiss Tamao, enjoying every moment of it. After a few closed kisses, Yaya then slowly opens Tamao's mouth with her tongue during another long kiss. Tamao and Yaya's tongues dance, exploring their mouths gracefully but also lovingly. Back and forth, their lips touch with their tongues still passionately together in between. Both girls are blushing so much, they are warming up during their kiss like the warm sun rising over the horizon. Yaya's arms wrap around Tamao, who was still leaning over the table, not wanting to end their loving kisses, for she was experiencing that love she so wanted before, like what Yaya wanted as well.

Then, a bright array of light was shining into the room windows, indicating that the rain and dark clouds has seceded from Astraea Hill. It was sunset over the schools of the hill, which meant that it would get dark very soon. After the sunlight started to light up Yaya's room, her and Tamao slowly end their long kiss, catching their breath right after. Once both girls caught their breath, Tamao slowly says to Yaya quietly,

"That..that was wonderful Yaya-chan. I do not know what to say."

While Tamao was sitting back down on the other side of the kotatsu, Yaya smiles and says to her,

"Yes, it quite was. Oh, you're still blushing Tamao-chan!"

"So are you Yaya-chan." says Tamao as she smiles back at Yaya and laughs.

Yaya starts to laugh as well, for she knew that Tamao was right. Moments pass and Yaya tells Tamao disappointingly,

"It's starting to get dark Tamao-chan. I wish you could spend the night here, but Hikari will be coming back."

Tamao nods in understanding, then remembers something that she told Yaya, saying,

"Oh Yaya-chan, since tomorrow is the last day of the short summer break week, I think Nagisa-chan wants to spend the day and night with Shizuma-sama, so maybe you could..spend the night at my dorm room tomorrow?"

Yaya became delighted to hear this, for she realizes that Hikari could possibly want to do the same with Amane.

"That's wonderful to hear Tamao-chan!" says Yaya. "I think Hikari wants to spend the night at Amane-sama's room, so maybe you could come back here instead."

Tamao then smiles and agrees to be back at Yaya's room instead, feeling that it would be nice to be back here.

"Okay, I will be back here tomorrow night Yaya-chan." replies Tamao in a cheerful tone of voice as she stands up.

Yaya stands up as well and gives Tamao a loving hug, smiling and feeling warm inside.

"We shall fill the rest of our hearts tomorrow night, Tamao-chan." whispers Yaya into Tamao's ear.

Tamao blushes once more and smiles almost uncontrollably. After their hug, Tamao walks and stops at the room door and says to Yaya,

"I will tell Nagisa-chan and let her know about us, for I think she needs to know about her friend's special someone. I will see you tomorrow night Yaya-chan!"

Yaya waves Tamao goodbye and then she realizes what Tamao has just said after the door closes.

"That means, I probably need to tell Hikari-chan about Tamao-chan and I." Yaya says to herself. "This cannot be kept as a secret forever, so I will tell Hikari-chan tonight!"

* * *

So later on in the evening, Tamao and Yaya tell both Nagisa and Hikari about them and how they have a newfound love for each other, how they are not really hurt about the past anymore. How they can be together in loving arms like Nagisa to Shizuma and Hikari to Amane. Nagsa and Hikari were so happy for their friends because they both see that Tamao and Yaya are now happy. They now know that their friends have someone to love once more and be so happy, especially on this day with what happened with new living couple in Yaya's room.

Needless to say, throughout the whole day for couples of Astraea Hill, especially for Yaya and Tamao, affections were all over and abound in hearts and mind together.

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Author Note: Thank you so much for reading Chapter 8 of my Strawberry Panic! Fan Fiction! Leave any reviews/suggestions that could possibly improve or help the way I publish future chapters! =)


	9. The Love of Two Repaired Hearts

****Notice/Pre-note!**** - The rating has been changed to T from K+ for a precaution! There is a slight lemon moment, but doesn't go into a lot of detail (let me know if I should change it to M just in case if it is too much for T)! There was supposed to be two more chapters, but I put them together for one final ending! I hope you enjoy =)

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**Chapter #9 - The Love of Two Repaired Hearts**

The last day of the short summer break for the girls of St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulium was very hectic. Many of the girls, friends and couples, were trying to spend the whole day together as much as they could. Though during most of the day, Nagisa and Tamao were getting ready for the night to spend with their love Shizuma and Yaya. Tamao has told Nagisa about her and Yaya, how they have found a new feeling for each other and that they feel much better about it. Though, Nagisa has questioned Tamao about how Yaya has changed from her usual self from before.

"Tamao-chan, have you noticed that Yaya-chan has changed..from her original self?" Nagisa asks Tamao. "She seems like she has been a bit different, after seeing you. It's not a bad thing, but just different!"

Tamao looks back to Nagisa and stops sweeping up their room floor, answering Nagisa's peculiar question.

"You're right Nagisa-chan, I have noticed that she has changed a bit from before. Though, I think she has been through a lot before her and I, losing Hikari-chan after she has shown signs of her liking Hikari. How she kept silent about it to us, but trying to show her herself. I think it has had an effect on how she thought about herself, like me.."

Tamao looks down towards the ground, thinking about all that has happened before and how it led up to her and Yaya being together, wanting to put the broken pieces of their hearts back together. How so much has changed in just a matter of a few days, but for the better. Tamao smiles and looks over to Nagisa saying,

"I think she is now quite happy, as am I!"

Nagisa is feeling happy for her friend, especially how she feels after being sad and thinking in a depressing state of mind. Nagisa no longer feels bad for Tamao and how she got pushed by her to Shizuma on the final night of the Étoile selection, how she felt like Tamao was giving her up, not even trying. Nagisa wants to return the kind support for Tamao by supporting her with Yaya.

"I'm so happy for you Tamao-chan!" says Nagisa as she finishes up what she was cleaning. "I'm so glad that you have the last night to spend with someone, especially with Yaya-chan!"

Tamao smiles wholeheartedly and replies back saying,

"Thank you Nagisa-chan, and you know I've always been happy for you and Shizuma-sama since you have been with her. You and her are made for each other, and I'm happy for my good friend to have someone that special to her."

Nagisa is touched by the kind words said by Tamao, so she walks over and hugs her saying,

"Tamao-chan, you're such a great friend best friend to me ever since I set foot in this amazing area of Astraea Hill this year!"

Tamao hugs Nagisa back tightly with a tear in her eye, also touched by what Nagisa has said.

"You're a great best friend as well Nagisa-chan! Thank you for supporting me now!" says Tamao almost choked up still on what her friend, her previous love, has said.

After both of the girls hugged, Nagisa and Tamao walk to their room door and say to each other,

"See you tomorrow morning!"

As Nagisa opens the door, she sees Shizuma standing outside in the hall, waiting for her love Nagisa to walk with her before nightfall.

"Shizuma-sama!" says Nagisa as she runs into Shizuma's arms.

"My dear Nagisa-chan." Shizuma says affectionately. " Are you ready to enjoy the last of our break together?"

She then lifts Nagisa's head by her chin and then kisses her forehead. Nagisa blushes intensely, though she remembers that Tamao still hasn't left.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not saying goodbye more properly Tamao-chan!" says Nagisa frantically.

"It's totally fine Nagisa-chan, you and Shizuma-sama go and enjoy each others company now!" replies Tamao while she waves at Nagisa and Shizuma, who waved back as they reached Shizuma's dorm room at the other end of the long hall.

Tamao sighs and smiles as she turns to leave for St. Spica's dorm rooms, where Yaya and Hikari were preparing the room.

* * *

As Hikari and Yaya were cleaning up their room, Hikari has been thinking about what Yaya has told her the previous day, about her and Tamao. Hikari has been wondering about Yaya's reactions and how different they are from the way she used to be before. She still teases Hikari, but not in the hinting way she has been accustomed to. Yaya acting in a different mood is something that Hikari has not been used to at all, so she asks Yaya a question.

"Yaya-chan, this may be an unusual question to ask..but how did you change? How you act differently from before, but not completely, and how your mood is changed to a more 'innocent' character."

Hearing this question being asked, Yaya is surprised. She hasn't really thought about herself and how she really has changed, so she gives it a much more deepening thought in her mind and responds back saying,

"Hikari..you're right, I have never noticed until now that I have changed a bit, I do act more innocent now that you mention it. As the answer to your question, I guess the reasons why I have changed is mostly because of thinking so much after the Étoile competition, about you. I have felt alone because I kept all the sad thoughts to myself and not telling you how I felt the past month or so. Of course, even though I was sad, I was and still am happy for you having Amane-sama, how happy you are with her. I did, you know, want to be closer with you, but I knew it wasn't really meant to be. Now, I can feel what you are feeling now..happy and in love again. Tamao has been through something similar as I have, so I guess wondering about her and how pretty I think she is, has led me to act more differently than I have before. Being together with her has clouded my mind on how I have changed, but for the better."

Hikari, as she is in shock on how much Yaya has explained, is now understanding how Yaya has changed a bit, how much happier she is to have someone. Hikari has thought about herself and how she just noticed Yaya before loving her, especially with the kiss she received from Yaya in the past. She now can see why Yaya has changed from her original character, but still not completely, and she is happy to hear it is for the better.

"Yaya-chan, thank you so much for explaining this to me, I truly am thankful. I also thank you for your understanding for me and Amane-sama, it means a lot to me. I am so glad to hear that you're happy with Tamao-chan and I wish you the best during this time we have at St. Spica!" Hikari says as she smiles to her friend across the room.

Yaya smiles back and replies back saying,

"Thank you for your kind words Hikari-chan! I'm so happy to hear what you have just said to me, I'm grateful for those words. Now, don't you have to be in the arms of the prince now? She must be waiting to take her princess into her arms now, dying to be with you! He he." Yaya teasingly says to Hikari, who is embarrassed, like always when Yaya plays with her about Amane.

Hikari stomps her foot on the ground in a little frustration from Yaya's teasing, but then laughs, not being able to keep a straight look of fake anger.

"Hahaha, well that is one thing that sure has not changed Yaya-chan!" says Hikari as she laughs.

"Well, I am your best friend after all, Amane's sweet angel." says Yaya as she giggles back.

As both girls have ended their laughing session, they hear a knock at the door. Wondering if it was either Tamao or someone else, Yaya opens the door. It was Amane, here to pick up the little blonde angel that is Hikari.

"Ah Amane-sama, I'm guessing you're here to pick up Hikari-chan for the night?" Yaya asks the tall girl at the door.

"Yes Yaya-chan, you're correct. I heard laughing from outside the door and waited for a few seconds to answer." replies Amane. "Something so funny I'm guessing, Hikari-chan?"

"Oh, it was Yaya-chan and I teasing each other while we cleaned the room, nothing unusual.." Hikari says back to Amane.

Amane giggles from Hikari's reaction, for she was blushing when she saw her after knocking on the door. She then asks Hikari,

"So, are you ready to spend our night together before the start of a new semester Hikari-chan?"

Hikari, who was picking up the bag with her uniform in it, blushed even more, for she was about to be in the arms of her lovely prince for the night of their final day of break. She then walks over to Amane and says back smiling and quietly,

"Yes I am, Amane-sama."

Amane then smiles once more and gently grabs one of Hikari's arms, ready to go with her to her room. Hikari smiles more, then turns towards Yaya and says,

"I hope your night will be nice and wonderful Yaya-chan! I will see you in class tomorrow morning!"

Yaya smiles and waves to Hikari saying,

"Enjoy your night as well Hikari-chan." she also winks while she was waving, giving her one last teasing moment.

Hikari almost wanted to stick her tongue out at Yaya, but she was with Amane and did not want to do that in front of her. So she starts to walk with Amane, with her arm taken lovingly by Amane, and waves one last time back at Yaya. Once out of sight, Yaya closes the door and says to herself,

"I'm so glad I got to tell her about Tamao and I. I'm even more happy that she supports me and understands why I changed..for the better."

* * *

As she says this, she puts away the cleaning utensils that her and Hikari used for their room, before Tamao arrives. Right when she was done, Yaya hears another knock on the door. She walks over to the door and opens it in nervousness, for she was expecting Tamao any minute before. Sure enough, it was Tamao, in her pajama outfit like what she wore during the secret tea parties they had with Nagisa, Chiyo, and Tsubomi.

"Welcome Tamao-chan!" says Yaya in an exciting tone of voice as she lets Tamao inside the room.

As Tamao waltzes into the room, she is amazed at how clean it is, almost like her and Nagisa's room at St. Miator.

"Wow, yours and Hikari-chan's room looks very clean!" says Tamao nicely to Yaya, who smiles at her compliment.

"Thank you Tamao-chan, I didn't want the room to be messy at all in front of you." replies Yaya.

"I would not have minded anyway, but thank you Yaya-chan." says Tamao while she looks around the room more. She notices the clock on the wall, which read as 8:00 P.M.

"Oh my, it's already this late?" Tamao says as she also noticed that the halls were more quiet than when she arrived at St. Spica.

"You're right Tamao-chan, but at least the sun is still setting for a beautiful view to experience before we head to bed." Yaya says as she looks out the windows.

The sun is now almost completely out of view, still giving out a vast amount of light that lit up the sky in array of colors, from dark navy blue to a bright orange streak of warmth. This has Tamao looking outside as well, also looking at Yaya, who was close by the windows. She sees the streaks of light passing by Yaya's figure, her raven colored hair being lit up by the rays of light passing by. Tamao is strucken by Yaya long flowing hair, how smooth and silky it is. Noticing this once more made her remember the day she looked at Yaya's looks from the top of her cup of tea, how she hasn't noticed this sudden beauty before. She continues to look with no response, but then she yawns and lays down on Yaya's bed. Yaya noticed her laying down and says to her,

"Wow, you must be so tired Tamao-chan."

Tamao nods and replies back saying,

"Yeah, I am probably tired from cleaning Nagisa and I's room all day. Even though we won't be in it tonight, we thought it would be nice to clean it when we come back, haha."

"Well that's something you probably had fun doing huh?" asks Yaya.

"Yes, we did have fun, especially getting ready for tonight, like you and Hikari-chan did!" replies Tamao, still laying on the bed.

Yaya then smiles and walks over to the light switch and turns off the room light. The room was still bright because of the still setting sun over the horizon of Astraea Hill.

As she turns off the light, Yaya then climbs into the covers with Tamao, yawning from the long cleaning day. She looks into Tamao's eyes, having a tired look to them, and smiles.

"You know Tamao-chan, you have very beautiful blue eyes." says Yaya affectionately.

"You have beautiful eyes too Yaya-chan." replies Tamao, as she starts to stroke her Yaya's hair slowly.

Both Tamao and Yaya stare into each other's eyes, like yesterday before they first kissed on the kotatsu table. Then, their heads draw nearer and nearer, as Yaya says to Tamao,

"Tamao-chan.."

"..Yaya-chan." says Tamao back to Yaya.

Lips come into connection in loving tenderness as Tamao and Yaya were saying their names back and forth. The sun now fully sets, letting in the night of darkness. After the sweet kiss, Tamao whispers to Yaya, saying,

"I love you, Yaya-chan." Tamao then gives a light kiss on one of Yaya's cheeks.

Yaya smiles and whispers back to Tamao,

"I love you too, Tamao-chan" and she then gives a kiss back to Tamao.

They then both start to kiss more and more; deeper and more lovingly, one after the other. Kiss after kiss, Tamao and Yaya become so warm like their time together in the same room, where kiss after kiss was exchanged in the same loving way. After more small kisses, Tamao and Yaya wrap their arms around each other and kissed so deeply once more. Once their lips stay connected, both of each other's tongues escape their mouths, now caressing one another in such a passionate way. Tamao moans very subtly, enjoying the very loving moment her and Yaya are having together. Yaya noticing Tamao's quiet moan, takes the first step in control and stops the deep kiss of theirs, moving her head down to Tamao's neck and gently bites on one side. Tamao lifts her head in reaction with her mouth slightly open. Yaya gives a few more bites to Tamao's neck and then licks it ever so lightly. Tamao moans a bit louder, not even having her neck kissed, bitten, and licked before. She feels like her neck being taken like this is something she thought would not happen at all, but it is now. After licking Tamao's neck, Yaya moves one of her hands down to the upper part of Tamao's legs so very lightly. This makes Tamao cringe in pleasure, as she moans once again quietly. While Yaya was doing this, Tamao moves her head and gently nibbles at Yaya's ear, making Yaya slightly move her head up. Tamao could not believe the sensation she was feeling as Yaya's hand was over the thighs of her legs. She then lifts her leg in between both of Yaya's own legs, which makes her make a small quiet sound in reaction. Yaya then feels one of Tamao's hands moving down to both of their legs that were together still, and lightly Tamao caresses one of Yaya's thighs. Yaya then feels herself moving slightly, not having this feeling ever before. Such a good feeling of this sensation has made her want more, for she almost wanted this a while before..being with Tamao. Tamao and Yaya then kiss each other more, expressing their love more and more with tenderness and emotion. While kissing, Yaya moves her hand up more, where Tamao has never felt a sensation like this, like what Yaya is feeling at the same time. Both of them moan ever so quietly, but the can barely keep themselves quiet of what is happening. The happiness of being together in this moment makes it ever so special for them. After a few minutes pass, Yaya and Tamao have grown tired in happiness and love, to which they have never felt like this before at all. As they both move their hands together, they hold each other and kiss once more.

Yaya, who was so warm with Tamao, says to her one more time,

"I love you..Tamao-chan."

Tamao blushes more in the moonlight and says back to Yaya,

"..and I love you Yaya-chan."

Once they both said the three sweet words to each other, Tamao and Yaya slowly fall asleep, smiling together under the beautiful moonlight in each other's arms.

* * *

The day of the next semester at Astraea Hill's schools begins, marking the end of the special short break all the students of St. Miator, St. Spica, and St. Lulium have been ever so blessed with. The few days of the break created many small memories, and the memories that were included so highly, was the special memories of Tamao-chan and Yaya-chan. They were at first so sad about how they lost their previous loves, Nagisa and Hikari, before and during the Étoile Competition. They felt like they were the only ones out of all the three schools to be going through something like this, the pain and heartbroken loss of special girls. Then, the two broken hearts have run into each other, not seeing one another for a while in the time of about a month or two. As these hearts spent time together, with tea and company of one another, they have remembered that the other has pretty much gone through the same thing, and slo seeing the unseen beauty they have not noticed before. Then, on one fateful morning, they both have realized that they have a new profound feeling, and that they can heal each other together through a kiss and more. Showing the love they need for themselves with compassion and understanding. In this process, one heart has been changed from before, changed from their original character, but it wasn't bad at all. The understanding of change has led to wanting more of their significant other, wanting to express that change more. The night of love and closeness has strung the two different hearts of Tamao and Yaya together, healed and knowing that they have each other now.

Now that the break is over and that the loving night of before has happened, Yaya and Tamao are now getting ready to go back to the classes and clubs that they have been used to before.

"Hey Tamao-chan." says Yaya as she puts on her St. Spica uniform. "Are you ready for the new semester?"

Tamao, who was also getting into her St. Miator uniform, replies saying in a positive tone,

"Certainly Yaya-chan, especially now that I have someone to keep me company in happiness..and love to hold onto."

Yaya smiles as she finishes putting on her uniform and also says,

"If I have you by my side Tamao-chan, I am prepared to go into this new semester."

Once Tamao finished dressing, she smiled very brightly and walks over to Yaya, giving her a light kiss. Both girls blush and stare into each other, gazing into one another's beauty. Yaya then holds out her hand and asks Tamao,

"Are..you ready for this semester on Astraea Hill, of the Strawberry dorms, lovely Tamao-chan?"

Tamao grabs Yaya's hand and hold it saying back,

"I am very much, lovely Yaya-chan, for I'm not alone anymore, not broken once more."

Both girls then walk out of Yaya's dorm room, with their hearts repaired, in love, and not broken.

3

* * *

Author Note: Thank you so much for reading my first Strawberry Panic and very first Fan Fiction! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to read, I really appreciate it! Thank you again, and I hope you have enjoyed it! I will possibly add more writing to the previous chapters so send me ideas for those, or send me some ideas for another story I can do =), I'll be glad to write any fan fiction story for Strawberry Panic or the other plenty of anime shows I have watched (50+)!


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